Bohemian F.C

1890

1907

Richfield Sports Club  was founded in October 1889. The following September club members got together to form a football team. The founder members (lads of 17 and 18) were drawn from the Hibernian Military School and the Bells Academy (a civil service college).   They chose the name Bohemian F.C for its romantic and free spirited connotations.  The club was founded at the Gate Lodge of Phoenix Park (the North Circular Road entrance) and played their matches in the Phoenix Park Polo grounds.  
The current club colours of red and black were adopted in 1893. 
From 1902-1920 they were members of the  Irish Football League and contested the Irish Cup (which they won in 1908) when these were 'All-Ireland' competitions.  
With Independence and the foundation of the Irish Free State Bohemians became founding members of the League of Ireland  and competed in the Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup.

Irish Football Association Challenge Cup

1881- Moyola Park
Moyola Park Association Football Club was formed during season 1879/1880 under the patronage of Lord Spencer Chichester, the landlord of the Moyola Park estate. Their  first recorded game was a friendly at home against Cliftonville FC, Belfast on 14 February 1880, in which the visitors recorded a 3-0 victory. Lord Spencer Chichester was the inaugural president of the fledgling Irish Football Association, which was formed in November 1880. On 9 April 1881 Moyola Park became the first winners of the Irish Football Association's Challenge Cup, defeating Cliftonville by 1-0 in the final, from an initial entry of seven clubs, the founder members of the Association. The gate receipts on that day were £8-00. 

1882- Queen's Island 
I can find out very little about the Belfast based Queen's Island side, other than that they fielded 10 Scotsmen in the final. Cliftonville were runners up again, Queen's Island winning 1-0 in front of a crowd of  2,000 at the Prospect ground. 

1883- Cliftonville 
Having been runners up in the first two finals Cliftonville finally got their name on the trophy with a comfortable 5-0 win over Ulster. 

1884- Distillery
Distillery won their first cup with a 5-0 win over Wellington Park. The distillery full backs were club captain Matt 'Daddy' Wilson and his son Bob Wilson. Distillery were founded in 1880 and were based at West Belfast's Distillery Street.

1885 - Distillery
Distillery defended their title with 9 of the previous year's winning side making a return to the final. This time round  Limavady were beaten 3-0. The finals were still attracting crowds of about 2,000 at this time. 

1886-  Distillery
3 in a row for Distillery. Limvady were beaten 1-0 and protested following a very rough final. The Irish FA apportioned equal blame for the violence of the match to both sides. The result stood but the cup and medals were withheld.

1887- Ulster 
A new name on the cup as Ulster overcame Cliftonville 3-1 at Belfast's Broadway with 4,000 in attendance. 

1888- Cliftonville
Bob Wilson won his 4th Irish Cup playing against his former club, Distillery,  as Cliftonville ran out 2-1 winners.

1889- Distillery
Outsiders Belfast YMCA excelled themselves and lost the final to the strongest team in Ireland by the odd goal in 9! Having taken the lead in the first minute YMCA camer back from 4-2 down but Distillery's 5th goal proved too much for them. 

1890-  Gordon Highlanders 
Gordon Highlanders was a Scottish regiment in the British Army. They took advantage of their Irish posting to win the cup, beating Cliftonville in the final. Unsurprisingly the Highlander's XI was entirely Scottish. 4 of the Cliftonville side had played for YMCA in the previous tear's final. 
The first match was drawn 2-2, the Highlander's winning the replay 3-0. Highlander's Bob Milne settled in Belfast and for many years played for Linfield . He also represented  Ireland at international level. 

1891- Linfield
Milne was back, winning the cup with Linfield. Linfield became the first club to win the 'double' in Ireland  In the final they beat Ulster 4-2 at Solitude. The attendance was 5,000. The Ulster team featured Jack Reynolds, who was capped by both Ireland and England. 

1892- Linfield
Linfield retained the trophy by thrashing army side  Black Watch 7-0 in the final. Black Watch fielded XI Scotsmen. Stangley Bob Hill, who scored 4 goals in the final was a Scotsman who had once served with the Black Watch! Linfield also featured William Arnott, brother of the Scottish international Walter Arnott. Some sources credit his cup win with Linfield to Walter. 

1893- Linfield
Linfield secured a hat trick of 'doubles' beating Cliftonville 5-1 in the cup final. 

1894- Distillery 3 Linfield 2
Distillery were the first Irish team to use a coach (Adam Wright). The final played on St Patrick's Day  ended in a 2-2 draw,Distillery playing the second half with 10 men after Davy Brown broke his leg.
In the replay one month later it was Linfield who were reduced to 10 early on, with stalwart Bob Milne being the injured party. Distillery won 3-2.

Bob Milne

1895- Linfield 
Linfield  smashed Dublin based Bohemians 10-1 in the final, this after Bohemians had taken the lead.   Joe McAllen and Bob Milne scored three goals each. Milne had now scored in the final for 3 seasons in a row and played in 8 final ties altogether (including replays).

1896- Distillery 
 Distillery beat  Glentoran 3-1 at Belfast's Solitude, the attendance was 6,000. 

1897- Cliftonville
For the third time an army team reached the final. This time it was the Sherwood Foresters,an English regiment based in Dublin's Curragh. The Foresters fielded an XI made up entirely of Englishmen. Cliftonville won 3-1. 

1898- Linfield
 A return to winning ways for Linfield, double winners again this season. In the cup final they beat  St. Columb's Hall Celtic (Derry) by 2- 0. Bob Milne was there, of course.

1899- Linfield
A crowd of 7,000 at Solitude saw 85 minutes of football before Glentoran walked off the pitch, incensed at the refusal of a penalty. Linfield were 1-0 up at the time, and the Irish FA decided that the score should stand. 
Bob Milne made his 10th appearance in the cup final (a further 2 would follow).

1900- Cliftonville 
A Belfast v Dublin final saw Cliftonville beat Bohemians 2-1.
Cliftonville had received a bye to the final when their opposition, The Kings Own Scottish Borderers  a regimental team, were called up for the Boer War in South Africa. 

Cliftonville 1879-1910

John McAlery was responsible for the introduction of Association Football to Ireland. McAlery was a Belfast based clothier who imported tweeds from Scotland. In 1878 he was in Scotland on honeymoon when he saw a game of  football being played.
On his return to Belfast McAlery arranged for 2 Scottish teams, Queen's Park and Caledonian (Inverness), to play an exhibition match at the Ulster Cricket Ground. Queen's Park won 3-2.

The exhibition match took place in October 1878 and the following year McAlery decided to try and set up a football club to play Scottish Association Rules (which differed from those of the Football Association). He placed the above advertisement in the Belfast press and enlisted the support of fellow members of Cliftonville Cricket Club.
Cliftonville became a major force in Irish football (which, in the early days, focused almost exclusively on Belfast).  

	Cliftonville		Honours
1879	Foundation. An inauspicious start, losing 2-1 against a team of Rugby players known as Quidnunces and 9-1 to Caledonian.
1880		John McAlery instigates the foundation of the Irish Football Association. He is secretary up until 1888
1881	Lost in the final of the first edition of the Irish Cup, 1-0 to Mayola Park	Irish Football Association Challenge Cup inaugurated
1882	Lost in the final of the Irish Cup , 1-0 to Queen's Island	4 Cliftonville players in Ireland’s first international XI, McAlery as captain
1883	Beat Ulster 5-0 to win Irish Cup for the first time		Irish Cup
1884			Belfast Charity Cup
1885
1886	Played in FA Cup		Belfast Charity Cup
1887	Lost 3-1 to Ulster  in cup final		Belfast Charity Cup
1888	Beat Distillery 2-1 to win Irish Cup Played in FA Cup		Irish Cup Belfast Charity Cup
1889			Belfast Charity Cup
1890	Moved to Solitude. Lost 3-0 to  Gordon Highlanders in a  cup final replay	The Irish Football League founded. (Belfast & District League)
1891
1892			County Antrim Shield
1893	Lost 5-1 to Linfield in cup final
1894			County Antrim Shield
1895
1896
1897	Beat Sherwood Foresters 3-1 in cup final		Irish Cup Belfast Charity Cup
1898			County Antrim Shield
1899
1900	Beat Bohemians 2-1 in cup final		Irish Cup
1901		Division A Ireland	Irish Cup
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906			Irish League
1907	Beat Shelbourne 1-0 in cup final replay		Irish Cup Belfast Charity Cup
1908			Belfast Charity Cup
1909	Beat Bohemians 2-1 in cup final replay		Irish Cup Belfast Charity Cup
1910			Irish League

1897